Protecting girls by keeping them in school

Plan International China provides gender training and scholarships to keep girls safe and in school.

A girl and her parents signing a scholarship form

Plan International China runs the Intervention and Promotion of Minority Girls’ Rights project in Yunnan Province.

As part of this programme, we increase the ability of girls to protect themselves. We achieve this by training both girls and their parents, establishing village mutual development funds and conditional educational funds that help girls remain in school. We are also targeting specific interventions at reducing the number of child marriages for marginalised girls.

In order to keep girls in school and reduce the chances of early marriage, Plan International China has provided 344 scholarships for girls.

Xiao Xia, a girl from a poor family in Yunlong County of Yunnan Province said “Plan International’s projects assisted me to exclude all sorts of negative thoughts, and let me find out a proper way I should choose in my life.”

She had previously considered dropping out of school as a result of the negative attitude towards girls’ education in her region. After Xiao Xia and her family received gender equality training, she grew in confidence. She says, "I must receive further education and change my destiny."

Xiao Xia is now actively involved at school and is enjoying her education. Her parents said “"we will find ways to overcome the difficulties for her to continue her education, and we hope she will do better than us."